NBA success for former Shockers a win for Marshall

Friday

Jul 6, 2018 at 5:15 PMJul 6, 2018 at 5:15 PM

WICHITA (TNS) — Without playing a game on the court, Gregg Marshall and his Wichita State men's basketball program won big this summer.

It started in June when the Philadelphia 76ers selected Landry Shamet with the No. 26 overall pick in the NBA Draft, then continued in July when Fred VanVleet agreed to a two-year contract worth $18 million earlier this week.

What that means is Marshall gets to upgrade his WSU pitch on the recruiting trail.

Not only has he produced three NBA guards (including Ron Baker with the New York Knicks), but Marshall also coached the first Shocker first-round draft pick in 33 years. On top of that, VanVleet, Baker and Shamet will earn a combined $30 million guaranteed.

"It's immense because this was probably the one thing that was missing in Gregg Marshall's bag," said Corey Evans, a Rivals recruiting analyst. "He's won these conference titles, gone to the NCAA Tournament, been to the Final Four, but in today's age kids want the NBA. It's about can you get them there and how fast can you do it. Now he has examples he can point to in the NBA making multiple millions of dollars.

"It's one less thing a competitor can use against him and one more thing he can use to take his program further as a national entity."

On the recruiting path, Wichita State is becoming known as an NBA guard factory. Baker and VanVleet have both gained reputations as players with high basketball IQ and grit.

Prospects pay attention to what's happening in the NBA, and VanVleet's breakout season that made him a finalist for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award puts the Shockers on the map.

Now Shamet, a player who overcame stress fractures in both feet at WSU, adds to the lore as a first-round pick.

"It shows that Gregg Marshall and his staff at Wichita State know how to develop guards into NBA prospects," Evans said. "And now not just prospects, but one of the top 30 guys in the draft.

"How many programs outside of the blue bloods can say they've had three guards receive those kind of contracts?"

Wichita State's increased presence in the NBA has already helped win recruiting battles for Marshall, especially in his nine-person class of 2018.

Ricky Torres, Jamarius Burton, Erik Stevenson and Dexter Dennis all mentioned Marshall's success rate in the NBA as a deciding factor in their decision to become Shockers.

"Coach Marshall is known for taking those under-valued players and turning them into who they really want to be," Dennis said after his commitment. "I feel like I'm the next one."

"At the end of the day, if I'm going to take a risk on somebody, I'm going with somebody that's done it before," Burton said, explaining why he picked WSU over Butler, Massachusetts and Temple.

"My ultimate goal is to be a pro," Torres said in his announcement. "I looked at their resume, how they send people to the professionals. I looked at previous people they've had there and how many end up where I want to go."

Wichita State could use its recent bump with its final scholarship in the 2019 class, which already has a verbal commitment from four-star forward DeAntoni Gordon, or with its 2020 class that has three open scholarships to offer.

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